Training plans should not just focus on the immediate needs of “What should I do today?” or even just for the week.   You need to start with the big picture.   A comprehensive training plan can be broken down into several periods each of which will represent a new phase of training.

This is the concept of “periodization”.

The first period is a base period.  Its purpose is to ease the athlete back into training alter having rested for two months.  The first weeks are slow and easy because the training is concentrated primarily on building back the endurance through volume, with very little emphasis on intensity or speed.

The pre-competition period is an extension of the base with one or two aerobic interval days breaking up the distance training.

Then the mid- competition period begins.   Now the training focus shifts slightly by decreasing the training volume and increasing the training intensity.   The training week is composed of alternating hard and easy days with aerobic – anaerobic interval work done on hard days separated by distance work.  In this transition of training periods, the workout quality (intensity) becomes more important than the quantity (volume).

September and October form the Peak period.  The training volume is very low and the intensity is very high.  The triathlete will spend few days on distance training and more days on specific race pace interval training.  The key international distance competitions should take place during this period.

Finally, the recovery period is an essential break, both physically and mentally.   Relaxation during this phase is important, so the word “training” should be substituted by the word “exercise”.  Then in January, the cycle begins again.

Any training plan should build upon the base work established early in the season and introduce higher intensity interval training for each event.

Days with dual work outs can be accomplished in a morning and evening session, morning and midday session, midday and evening or all at once.
Within each 4 week cycle the workouts alternate hard and easy training days for the first, second and third weeks.  The fourth week is less intense.  This allows the body to recover then progress to the next 4 week cycle.

The workouts should be varied from day to day and week to week in an effort to alleviate boredom.  Unless you are doing a specific “brick” training day, your training plan should not include training for all three events in one day.   Instead focus on deconflicting the hard training days for the general muscle groups.

Swimming and cycling make an excellent daily pair since one primarily uses the upper body and the other primarily uses the lower body.  Since cycling and running rely heavily on the leg muscles, their training days are separated.

In any training plan, it will be important to include full time trials in order to gauge progression.  These are much more realistic if it can take place in an actual triathlon competition.  As the times improve from one week to the next, so too should the intensities of the workout.

Cycling is a lower body sport. It is easier to master than swimming because it does not take as much time to become proficienft.

The technical aspects of cycling evolve around body position and pedaling efficiency.   Given the same power output, a rider sitting tall will be slower than a crouched rider.

The wind acts as a resistance to forward movement which slows the cyclist down.  To minimize the wind
resistance, the cyclist must become as aerodynamic as possible by keeping the body low with knees and elbows tucked in.

Pedaling efficiency provides the power to cut through the wind resistance.   To maximize that power over a long period of time, the cyclist must develop a smooth stroke concentrating on maintaining a steady circular pattern with a cadence of 70 to 90 revolutions per minute.

This is different from the technique used by sprinters who pump the pedals in an upldown piston-like action. Although the motion is circular, the main forces acting on the pedal occur, on the downstroke while the upstroke is used as a short recovery phase.

The most technically demanding portion of the triathlon is the swim. Most swims take place in the open water; a lake, the ocean or a river. Although the legs contribute to  the forward propulsion, swimming is primarily an upper body sport.

Triathletes use the crawl stroke because it is the fastest stroke and it provides some rest periods during the arm recovery.  To minimize the drag created by moving through the water, the body remains as  streamlined as possible.  The forward propulsion comes from the power phase of the crawl stroke.  When the hand enters the water at the beginning of the stroke, it grabs the water then pulls the body up to the point of entry using an S-shaped maneuver.

Once the shoulder is lined up with the hand, the motion changes from a pull to a push.  As the person becomes more technically efficient, small changes take place in the overall  stroke to improve speed; the chin stays tucked, the palms face back, and the elbow is held high.  The legs mainly serve to stabilize as the swimmer rolls to take a breath or lifts her head to sight in an open water swim.